My Grandma, RIP

Twirl… THWAP went the towel, inspired by boy locker rooms. But there weren’t any showers or sweat, just the wide-gapped jaws of gleeful teenagers getting the Grandma treatment. She was at it again, my strong Grandma, probably saying “No junk!” or somesuch epithet that she conjured up that very moment; and me, marvelling at the spectacle. She passed this week, nearly ten years after one of her good days, our wedding day. She was an inspiration at interactions, people just wanted to talk to her everywhere she went; that the universe contains irony demonstrated by her ten plus year battle with the horrific Alzheimer’s. Memories? Plenty. I was in high school and some guy whose name escapes me but whose words remain implanted as an oral souvenir I file under “This is a day that I grew up” remarked that “Grandma” was the most popular kid at school. Before that day, I knew her as just Grandma, and then I realized she had become everyone’s.